The $662 billion National Defense Authorization Act passed by Congress last week includes controversial provisions that could usher in a radical expansion of indefinite detention under the U.S. government by authorizing the military to jail anyone it considers a terrorism suspect anywhere in the world without charge or trial. "Congress, with the Democrats in control of the Senate and a Democratic president, is about to enact into law the...

International pressure on the Syrian regime is increasing as the death toll there continues to rise. This week the United Nations estimated the death toll in Syria since March has surpassed 5,000, including hundreds of children. "The regime is given time after time to kill more people and more civilians," says Razan Zaitouneh, a human rights lawyer in Damascus who is living underground for her safety. "Every time, there is a new...

The funeral of Georgia activist Martina Correia, the older sister of former death row prisoner Troy Anthony Davis, was held earlier this month in her home town of Savannah, Georgia. She passed away December 1 after a more than decade-long battle with breast cancer at the age of 44. At the same time as she fought to save her own life, Correia struggled valiantly to save that of her brother’s. Davis was executed by the state of Georgia on...

The United American Indians of New England marked the 42nd National Day of Mourning in Plymouth, Mass. on Nov. 24 as others celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday. Democracy Now! was there, as Native speakers described the "suppressed" history of the holiday, the massacre of the Wampanoag and other indigenous peoples, and their continuing discrimination. They also expressed solidarity with struggles around the world, from Palestine to...

Bahrain has announced a commission to steer reforms after an inquiry found systematic rights abuse during a government crackdown on pro-democracy protests this year, but opposition parties say they will not participate in the commission. Published last week, the 500-page report outlines various abuses committed by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa’s government. According to the commission, nearly 3,000 people were detained during the...

Sonia Jacobs and Peter Pringle each served years on death row—Jacobs here in the United States and Pringle in Ireland. Both were exonerated after their convictions were overturned for murders that they steadfastly maintained they did not commit. They began dating shortly after meeting while both publicly campaigning against the death penalty. Their wedding earlier this month was perhaps the first of its kind: the union of two exonerated death...

Daily protests continue in Syria even as the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights estimates the government has killed more than 3,500 people during the last eight months in its attempt to silence a growing popular uprising. Over the weekend, protesters carried out a general strike in several cities. We get a live report from Damascus from Razan Zaitouneh, a lawyer and human rights activist, who says she believes at...

Today the European Union decided to impose sanctions on 18 Syrians in response to the killings of protesters by Syrian forces under President Bashar al-Assad. The move comes after the Arab League formally suspended the Syrian delegation on Saturday over its violent crackdown on eight months of protests. In a new report, Human Rights Watch accused the Assad government of "crimes against humanity" for alleged killings of protesters...

Ten years after the 9/11 attacks, detention policies in the United States are facing increasing scrutiny both here and abroad. American citizen Tarek Mehanna is set to stand trial this month on charges of "conspiring to support terrorism" and "providing material support to terrorists." Mehanna is accused of trying to serve in al-Qaeda’s "media wing." He was 27 years old when he was arrested in October 2009...

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